


The Parting of Ways

by mndalorians



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, angst but with a semi-happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mndalorians/pseuds/mndalorians
Summary: Din isn't ready to say goodbye, but Ahsoka is waiting (an extended scene from Chapter 13)
Relationships: Din Djarin & Baby Yoda, Din Djarin & Grogu, Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian & Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian & Grogu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	The Parting of Ways

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this way back when Chapter 13 aired but I'm terrible at uploading. It's here now at least so I hope you can enjoy it!

The inevitable weighed heavy on Din’s shoulders as he walked through the dead forest of Corvus; heavier than his armour had been the first time he donned it. He remembered the pauldrons that eclipsed his shoulders, the chestplate that dug into his underarms, and his helmet, big enough that a shake of his head could leave the visor off-kilter and him staring at the side of his helmet.

 _You’ll grow into it_ , Dekka said with a clap of his hand against Din’s back as he straightened it, the slight clang of beskar against leather an unfamiliar sound with the gesture, _you’d need to be refitted next month otherwise_.

Din had grown into a lot of things over the course of his life: his armour, his role as provider, his grief. It had consumed him as a child, crashed over him every time he was reminded of his parents and the day his entire world was upended, but he grew and the grief shrunk (or stayed the same size, it was hard to tell sometimes) until it could fit inside him, settle around his heart and only occasionally squeeze it to the point of aching.

But he was older now, didn’t exactly have any more growing to do, none that would consume and internalise the new bout of grief rising up ahead of him.

Every step seemed more reluctant than the last, his boots scuffing the dry earth as he moved closer to said grief and the loneliness he had once been so accustomed to. It was not a friend, but loneliness knew Din as well as he knew it, and he supposed that was the best he could ask for, to be known in some small part by _something_ , through the sighs and quips he let out when no one else was around. The time they had spent apart left him fearing the lonesomeness would feel like isolation this time around, like something forced upon him rather than a supposed choice.

The sight of the _Crest_ , something that had always brought relief before, left Din’s stomach hollow in that moment, emotion catching in his throat. His step stuttered as the ramp lowered and he stopped at its edge, closed his eyes against the sting of oncoming tears and let out a long exhale, tried to ready himself so that he might stand a chance of choking out a goodbye.

The jetpack detached easily enough as Din ascended the ramp and he pulled it round to his front, set it down on top of the crates sitting at the side of the hull. His eyes remained on the floor momentarily when he turned back towards his cot, the short distance separating him from it disappearing far too quickly. Din stopped, again, when his eyes lifted from the floor to his cot to the hammock and the kid – _Grogu_ , he reminded himself, the name not yet so readily formed on his tongue as _kid_ , though he supposed that wouldn’t matter soon enough. Nestled in the hammock, Grogu napped peacefully, unaware of Din’s turmoil.

Din started up again. He was caught between delaying as much as possible, stretching out their remaining time together, and getting it all over with as soon as he could, rip the blade out now, then tend to the wound later once he was back in hyperspace, no destination in mind.

Alone.

Din swallowed as he reached for the hammock and rocked it slightly. Grogu only sniffed in response.

‘Wake up, buddy,’ Din murmured, voice thick, ‘it’s— time to say goodbye.’

A few more rocks and Grogu’s eyes began to open, bleary and sleep ridden. He closed them again as the hammock continued to sway beneath Din’s hand, and it pained him to reach up and pull Grogu more thoroughly from his slumber.

Grogu blinked up at him with a slight wrinkling of his forehead, mouth parted. A small smile, laced with sadness, quirked the corners of Din’s lips up. Grogu always looked a little dazed when he woke up, and the smile was quick to slip from Din’s features when he realised that would be the last time he would see him somewhat dazed from a deep sleep.

It felt too soon to say goodbye, like they should have had more time together, even if Din had been the one to bring them to Corvus, their time together was too short.

They could have a few more minutes together, right?

There was no one to say otherwise, so Din lowered himself down to the edge of the cot and settled Grogu on his thigh. His eyes remained half closed as he shimmied into a more comfortable position against the thigh plate.

The wind howled outside, the only noise to be heard while they sat together – for much longer than a few minutes, though Din tried not to think about that or their eventual separation – and ran soothing circles over his side, watching Grogu come around, appreciating one last, small moment.

Slowly, as sleep cleared like a morning fog from Grogu’s mind, he became aware of the melancholy that dripped from Din, thick and blue. He cooed and placed a hand on top of Din’s wrist, looked up with searching eyes, as if he might find the reason for such strong emotion to be radiating from him in the visor that had offered up nothing before.

Din sighed. He knew they would need to move soon, but still he found himself clinging to the seconds slipping by and whatever allowed them to stay in that moment for just a little longer.

‘You’ll need to be good, okay?’ He reached for Grogu’s hand and rubbed it between two fingers. ‘Ahsoka will take care of you—’

_Take care of this little one._

_Or maybe, it’ll take care of you_.

Din gasped and released a shuddering breath, fat tears welling up and blurring his vision. His gaze turned upwards as he tried to control his breathing, steady it so that he might contain the tears that threatened to spill over, but he blinked and they escaped, raced down his face in two tracks and became lost in the scruff covering his chin.

When he looked down, Grogu’s head was tilted in concern, ears high. Din gripped his sides and lifted him up to press his head against the forehead of his helmet, closed his eyes when he heard the clack of Grogu’s claws against its sides.

‘I could have done better, I’m sorry.’

Grogu’s ears lowered as Din pulled away, big eyes earnest even as he frowned. Maybe it was wishful thinking on Din’s part to believe he was disagreeing with him, or maybe Grogu had truly felt cared for with Din, for the first time in decades. Perhaps Din had not been perfect, but they had survived together, two beings so starved of affection, so accustomed to violence, that they had had to rediscover it all over again with each other. And Grogu had been safe with Din, knew he was protected whenever he was near. The anxiety that had thrummed through him ever since leaving the Jedi temple had quietened when he reached out to Din that first time, Din wiggling his finger to coax him from his pod, bounty droid still smoking at his feet. Din’s affection may have been tentative, but he offered him protection so readily that Grogu could not find fault in him.

Grogu whined and grabbed at air as he reached for Din again, still not fully cognizant of the reason behind the sadness that rolled off Din, but knowing that he had to be near him, to hold as much of him as he could with his small hands. Din obliged and brought him to his chest, tucking him beneath the ridge of his helmet and settling a hand over his back. Grogu cooed and nuzzled his face against the fabric covering Din’s neck, ears high, contented. Din watched him from the small sliver afforded by the visor, tears wetting his lashes as he blinked them back.

‘This is the way,’ he told himself.

It had never felt more hollow.

*

It was with a heavy heart that Din readied Grogu, feeding him some leftovers from their meal the previous night and cleaning his face (sure to be careful around his eyes). He tried not to think about how he did it all for the last time as he straightened out his robe, pulled the sleeves down to protect him from wind that continued to whistle around the _Crest_. When Din lifted him, Grogu finally seemed to understand the finality of his gestures and began to cry, all of a sudden worried. Din’s eyes remained on Grogu as he made his way towards the back of the ship, settling him into the crook of his arm and squeezing a little in an attempt to calm him. They still had some time before they would reach Calodan, they could—

‘You’re like a father to him.’

Din paused at those words, lifted his head to see Ahsoka standing at the bottom of the ramp, looking up at them.

 _You are as its father_.

Din did not respond. Even if it were true, if he allowed himself to think that, what use was the acceptance of such a title when he was so close to giving Grogu away? He did not believe he deserved it. He stood for another moment before he continued down the ramp. The inevitable stood in front of him – he had already stretched time out to the point of breaking and he could hold it off no longer.

‘I cannot train him,’ Ahsoka said.

Din regarded her, a few paces away. ‘You made me a promise, and I held up my end.’

Ahsoka closed the distance between them. Grogu cooed as his attention shifted towards her and she took his hand in hers, not unlike Din had done.

‘There is one possibility.’ Ahsoka lifted her gaze, though not so far as to meet the horizontal bar of Din’s visor. ‘Go to the planet Tython, there you will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force. Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain.’

‘Then what?’

‘Then Grogu may choose his path. If he reaches out through the Force, there’s a chance a Jedi may sense his presence and come searching for him. Then again,’ Asoka let go of Grogu’s hand, crossed her arms as if to guard herself from her next words: ‘there aren’t many Jedi left.’

Sorrow pricked Din, Ahsoka’s tone hinted at tragedy, though he did not know enough to even begin an attempt at consolation. ‘Thank you’ was all he could manage.

Ahsoka uncrossed her arms, allowed for the sincerity of her words to be fully felt. ‘May the Force be with you.’

Din nodded in thanks and turned, retreating back up the ramp and into the hull. Relief overwhelmed him and he brought Grogu up to his shoulder as he had done so many times before. The dread and anticipation that had gripped his heart since he woke Grogu up eased off, and Din felt near weightless, if only for a singular, fleeting moment where the future did not exist beyond the few seconds ahead of him. He did not need to say goodbye to Grogu just yet – had escaped the event horizon this time – but he knew that one day a farewell would be impossible to avoid.

He only hoped he would be more prepared to face his grief when that day finally came.


End file.
